Free time
by Kiva
Summary: Epilogue to 'The Torment Of Tantalus.' Jack helps Daniel talk out some issues left over from the episode. Jack and Daniel friendship. First Sg1 fic, feedback is appreciated. Thank you :)


Title: Free Time  
  
Author: Kiva  
  
Email: Kiva31@yahoo.com  
  
Season: 1  
  
Spoilers: Erm, 'Children Of The Gods,' tiny one for 'The Broca Divide,' and lots for 'Torment Of Tantalus.' Warnings: None  
  
Rating: G  
  
Pairing: None  
  
Category: Angst, H/C  
  
Summary: Jack helps Daniel talk out a few 'issues' left over from the episode.  
  
Authors Notes: Okay....not really the first SG1 story I've ever started, but the first I've finished. I've written in other fandoms, but this really is my first SG1 fiction, so feedback on how I did would be appreciated.  
  
This is just something that occurred to me while watching the episode.....I've read just about every other 'TOT' epilogue out there, so I hope I'm not treading on anyone's toes with this. And I hope I'm doing this right : )  
  
Disclaimer: The characters of Stargate SG1 are not mine, nor do I lay any claims on them.  
  
***** ****** *******  
  
*****  
  
******  
  
*******  
  
With a deep sigh that was felt deep down in every bone of his cramped body, Colonel Jack O'Neill threw down the pen he was holding. His report was finally done. Ended, finished, written. *Reported.*  
  
Of course, all of this meant that he now had some free time on his hands. A rare commodity around the SGC lately, it seemed. Now, what to do?......  
  
Still sitting at his desk a minute later, it occurred to the Colonel that he didn't actually have anything to *do* with his free time. Hmm, he mused. That could be a problem .  
  
Before he could mentally review any more of his options however, there was a knock at his office door. He looked to the ceiling, his brow furrowed. Looked like his free time wasn't going to be quite as....well, free....as he had originally thought.  
  
He called something vaguely unintelligible out, hoping that the person on the other side of the door would take it, both as an answer to their knock, and a warning that he wasn't really in the mood to talk right now. And as he watched, the door opened a crack, and a blond head poked its way through. "Sir?"  
  
"Carter," he greeted, strangely relieved that it was his latest second-in- command. She wouldn't keep him for too long.....would she? "Have a seat."  
  
Captain Samantha Carter pushed the door wider, walking into the room and sitting in the indicated seat.  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
The two officers sat in silence for a moment, each waiting for the other to speak. When Carter didn't elaborate on her reason for being there, O'Neill decided to take the bull by the horns.....figuratively speaking, of course.  
  
"So....what can I do for you, Captain?"  
  
Carter shifted a little in her chair. "Well, er.....sir, I know this is probably none of my business --"  
  
Oh, here we go, groaned O'Neill inwardly.  
  
" -- But.....have you seen Daniel lately?"  
  
Jack cocked an eyebrow. Okay, that wasn't what he'd expected. "Not since we tried the gate on Ernest's planet, yesterday. Why?" Not since I more or less chewed his ass out for scaring the crap outta me like that, and extracted a promise that he would never pull a stunt like that again.  
  
There was more nervous shuffling. "Well, it's just that....since we found out that the gate on P3X-972 can't be re-connected to, Daniel's been a little...well, off."  
  
"Off?" O'Neill repeated. Giving a frustrated shake of his head, Jack tried to hurry his second-in-command along. "Is there a point to this, Captain?"  
  
At the reminder of her rank, Carter visible pulled herself together. "I just mean that....I think someone should talk to him. I've tried, but --"  
  
"But, he clammed up," O'Neill guessed.  
  
She nodded, something like relief showing in her blue eyes. "Yes sir."  
  
"And you thought that as his C.O -- and I use that term loosely where Daniel is concerned -- he'd respond to me."  
  
Carter bit her lower lip. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"  
  
"Granted."  
  
"When I try to force the issue.....he looks at me, and -- I'm a Captain in the U.S Air Force. I've flown in the Gulf, traveled across the Galaxy....but when I try to get Daniel Jackson to talk to me and he doesn't want to --"  
  
"He looks at you, and suddenly you don't have the heart?" Jack filled in for her. Daniel, you've been workin' on that puppy dog thing, haven't you?  
  
It was Sam's turn to sigh. "Yes, sir. But it's not just that, sir. I genuinely think he would respond better to you."  
  
The Colonel felt one corner of his mouth turning up for some reason, and he quickly quelled it. "Okay, Carter. I'll see what I can do."  
  
Sam did smile. "Thank you sir. I know I'm probably interfering, but --"  
  
"No explanations necessary, Captain. If that's all?" He waited for her nod. "Dismissed."  
  
Giving the Colonel another nod, Sam stood and moved to the door, but O'Neill stopped her. "Carter?"  
  
She paused, turning to him with one hand still on the door knob. "Yes sir?"  
  
O'Neill took a breath, trying to phrase his next statement correctly. "You did the right thing in coming here, Carter. SG-1 is a team. More than that, we're a family now. And we have to look out for each other, so.....good job."  
  
Carter smiled again, the gesture making her face bright. "Yes sir. Thank you, sir."  
  
She left then, and O'Neill winced. Looking heavenward, he grimaced. "When I said I wanted something to do, this wasn't what I meant!"  
  
Unsurprisingly, there was no answer to his complaint.  
  
***** ****** *******  
  
Deep in the bowels of the Cheyenne Mountain complex, Daniel Jackson bit his lip in frustration. Even after hours of trying to remember everything he possibly could about what he'd seen on P3X-972, to add it to Ernest's journal, he still had nothing.  
  
Blinking his tired eyes, Daniel removed his glasses, making sure to keep hold of them. In his tired state, he couldn't be sure he wouldn't put them down somewhere he wouldn't remember later. He stretched, wincing as several joints popped in a protest to the hours he'd spent hunched over. It seemed like some stimulation was needed, and he headed over to the coffee pot. Words would not soothe the savage beast -- or the sleep deprived archaeologist, though he supposed both were applicable after that mission to P3X-797 -- only coffee would do.  
  
Pausing in his journey, Daniel mentally ran over everything he had just thought, and decided that he was making even less sense than before. Not good.  
  
Walking forward, he was confused to find his way blocked. Blinking furiously, he looked up slightly, trying to figure out what the hell was keeping him from the caffeine he needed to fire up his mental processes.  
  
Blinking wasn't working, and remembering his glasses, Daniel fumbled them more or less onto his face, and the lump preventing his progress, was revealed as Jack O'Neill.  
  
"Jack," he managed, surprised.  
  
"Daniel," the Colonel answered, something that sounded vaguely like amusement in his voice. "Sorry for bargin' in here like this, but I knocked, you didn't answer and the door was open, so....."  
  
Wait, Jack had knocked? Okay, he was more tired than he'd thought. "Oh, I - I didn't hear you. I must've been a little out of it."  
  
"A little?" O'Neill smirked slightly. "I'd say more like on another planet, but since that won't happen 'til our next mission ....." O'Neill trailed off as Daniel just stood, staring at the Colonel uncomprehendingly.  
  
"Oh!" Jackson suddenly blurted. "That's, er -- that's funny."  
  
O'Neill nodded wryly. "Yeah, I could tell by your reaction."  
  
As the archaeologist continued to stand, his gaze centred on a point behind the Colonel's back, Jack turned to see what had secured the other mans attention. Books? Could be. Weird little statue thing? Eugh. Coffee -- Ah, coffeepot.  
  
Now, Jack knew what it was like to be running on fumes, and looking for some gas -- Hey, was that a metaphor or an analogy? Or one of those --  
  
O'Neill shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. Maybe he could do with some 'gas,' himself.  
  
Focusing on Daniel once more, Jack took in the fact that the younger man hadn't thought to simply *step around* him as an indicator of how badly Daniel needed something to wake him up. Best to humour him, then.  
  
Taking one carefully measured step to the side, the Colonel watched as Jackson blinked again, realising that his way was no longer obstructed.  
  
The next thing Jack knew, Daniel was practically inhaling a mug of coffee. After nearly finishing the drink off, he seemed to remember he had company, and turned a pair of now alert eyes to his visitor, the blue orbs fairly shining.  
  
"Oh, Jack....did you want one?"  
  
"No.....that's okay," O'Neill answered him, not even sure that Daniel had heard him in his java induced euphoria. He simply continued to watch silently as his friend gulped at the drink. Finally, the silence seemed to seep into Daniel's brain, and he looked up. "Oh, er....was there something you wanted?"  
  
Ah, an opening. "Er...yeah, actually. I thought you might want to, er..." Okay, deep breath, Jack..."talk."  
  
Now that *really* got Daniel's attention. "Talk."  
  
Jack pulled a face. Couldn't this guy do *anything* the easy way? "Yeah, you know....exchange verbal statements, engage in conversation, communicate -- *talk.*"  
  
"What would I have to talk about?"  
  
O'Neill silently counted to five in his head, and wondered if the other man was being clueless on purpose. "Well, what happened on P3X-972 for one thing."  
  
Daniel's expressive features closed down. Without looking at Jack, he moved past the other man, back to the table where his work was, and busied himself with the papers there. "I thought we already did this yesterday. There's nothing to talk about, Jack. We all got out, didn't we?"  
  
O'Neill studied him, looking for a clue as to the *real* reason Daniel was trying so hard to avoid the topic. "Yes, we did. We even managed to rescue a man who had been trapped for fifty years in isolation, and reunite him with his fiancee.....and yet, I'm not getting the feeling that you're exactly overwhelmed with joy at the way things turned out."  
  
Daniel's head shot up. "No, that's -- I'm happy for Catherine and Ernest, really I am. And -- okay, I'll admit that I'm disappointed that we never got to study what Ernest found there -- "  
  
"Disappointed?" O'Neill cut in.  
  
"Alright, *crushed* might be a better word, but .... that's not the reason I'm --" He cut himself off this time, and the Colonel almost growled in frustration. Instead, he calmy rested his arms on the counter next to Daniel, leaning forward until his weight was supported by his forearms, his hands clasped together.  
  
"What then?"  
  
Jackson took a deep breath, his eyes closing and his fists clenching until the knuckles turned white. "I did it again."  
  
With a confused frown, O'Neill tried to figure out what the hell Daniel was talking about. "What?"  
  
Daniel refused to look up, but he did open his eyes. "When we were on Ernest's planet.....I almost stayed....I almost made the same mistake."  
  
Jack shook his head, straightening up. "Ah, Daniel? It might just be that you're not firing on all cylinders here, but ......you're not making any sense."  
  
"On P3X-972.....I was so excited about finding and deciphering that device, that we almost died. Once again, I let this....*obsession* with knowledge take control, and --"  
  
"Hey!" O'Neill interrupted. "What the hell are you talkin' about?"  
  
"Do you ever play 'what if?' Jack?"  
  
The apparent change in subject threw O'Neill off, and he didn't have a chance to answer before Daniel continued. "I do. What if I hadn't joined the Stargate programme? What if I hadn't gone to Abydos? What if I hadn't left Sha're and Skaara in the Abydos gate room that day?"  
  
Suddenly, it made a little more sense to Jack. "God, Daniel."  
  
"But that doesn't matter. I did it. I saw you and Sam, and the team from Earth, and I wanted to show off my discovery. I wanted you to know that I hadn't lost my edge.....so what did I do? I left my wife alone, knowing that there might be danger, and now she's paying the price for it!"  
  
Right, Jack thought. Time to put a stop to this, and way past time for Daniel to let go of a few personal demons. "Fine. I don't completely understand what that has to do with this, but I'll play along. Say you were with Sha're that day.....what could you have done?"  
  
Jackson gave a harsh laugh. "I could've gotten her out of there, I could have....I could've died, protecting her .... I -- hell, I could have just taken her with me! I mean....it was all my fault. *I* wanted more knowledge, so I searched until we found the cartouche room and then I *unburied the gate!* I made it possible for Apophis to come through when he did, and I wasn't there to protect Sha're because I was too busy sharing my brilliant discovery." He stopped, angrily whipping off his glasses. "And as for what it has to do with what happened the other day, Jack.... when we were in the room that housed that device, I looked up and......I realised I was doing it again. Risking everything for a knowledge that didn't mean anything unless there was someone to share it with." He paused again, this time to replace the frames, the light catching the lenses as he did. "And what the hell else was I thinking? If I'd stayed, who would have looked for Sha're? I mean....I know you would try, but my first priority was her....I would have been breaking the promise I made myself and Sha're....that I would keep looking as long as I was able. How would I have done that if I'd stayed? How could I have been so dumb?"  
  
Jeez....was there *nothing* this guy couldn't feel guilty for? Jackson's jaw was set, a muscle twitching in his cheek, and Jack finally stepped in."Daniel....that doesn't matter now. First off....you can't be blamed for unburying the gate on Abydos. We all thought that Ra was the last of his kind, and since he was dead, the threat was gone. You couldn't have known that there were more snake heads out there. Besides, if he hadn't have come through the gate, you know he would have used his ship. And she still might have been taken."  
  
Daniel opened his mouth, about to disagree. "Ah, ah! It's my turn now. As for the attack....what if you had stayed? What if you'd died protecting Sha're, and she'd *still* been taken. Might alleviate the guilt complex you seem to have going, but what about your wife? I mean, she's gotta know you're looking for her......if you were dead, what would *she* have to fight for? Hmm? You're only human, Daniel. You're going to be tempted, and I mean tempted to do things you normally wouldn't do, to act like you wouldn't normally act." Like tempted to give it all up, and just stay on an alien planet....been there, done that, Daniel, Jack thought. "But you didn't give in to it, and that's the important thing. We're alive, and we can keep fighting the Goa'uld. That *is* what matters."  
  
Daniel finally focused on Jack, giving him an anguished look. "But that's not all, Jack.....what if that thing had told us how to contact one of the races who met there? They may have been able to help Sha're and Skaara.....help defend Earth."  
  
O'Neill nodded. "Valid point. But....we know they're out there.....or were, at some point. We can find them, Daniel. Just like we'll find Sha're and Skaara."  
  
Jackson let his head loll limply forward. "I wish I could believe you...."  
  
"You can," O'Neill answered firmly. "C'mon....where's that legendary Jackson 'never say shoot' optimism?"  
  
Daniel nodded his bowed head, a small smile threatening. "You're right."  
  
"Of course," Jack replied smugly, earning himself a half hearted smirk from his friend. "Hey, you're just statin' a fact."  
  
"Or the facts as you see them."  
  
"Same thing," Jack said loftily. And as Daniel shook his head in amused disbelief, Jack realised that the archaeologist was actually listening and digesting what he was saying. This led the Colonel to then debate whether or not to try slipping in a little mission do and don't list. Like....'don't go up to the potentialy angry native and smile'......'don't wander off without warning first'....okay, maybe just a mission 'don't' list, then. Nah, he decided. Wouldn't wanna spoil the mood. "C'mon," he said instead. "I've decided we're going to have a little team lunch. Let's go get Carter and Teal'c."  
  
Daniel looked at his watch. "Erm, I think you mean team *dinner.*"  
  
Jack shrugged. "Whatever. Teal'c's probably meditating or whatever it is he does for hours on end in his quarters, I'll bet you haven't eaten in ages, and Carter can get as obsessed as you with her .....quantum... naquada.... particles...... and stuff......."  
  
Daniel finally sighed in exasperation. "Fine. But what if Sam's busy?"  
  
O'Neill adopted an innocent expression. "Then I'll just nag her 'til she agrees."  
  
"Oh. Pretty much S.O.P, then."  
  
"Exactly." Precisely what Daniel had just said finally sunk into Jacks brain. "Hey, you're gettin' the hang of this military lingo, huh?"  
  
"What?" Daniel asked.  
  
"Yeah, you said 'S. O....'" He trailed off as Daniel continued to look at him blankly. "Nevermind. Let's go."  
  
They continued on, Daniel rambling on about some new cultural....*thing,* as O'Neill tried his best to tune him out.  
  
Oh well, Jack thought with a mental sigh as they walked to Carter's lab. At least I found something to do with my free time.  
  
######  
  
The End. 


End file.
